CBI probe to bring out truth behind death of SSR: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was addressing a virtual rally in Patna, made a reference to the untimely death of Sushant Singh Rajput towards the end of his more than an hour-long speech.

Patna: The untimely death of Sushant Singh Rajput has come as a shock to millions of fans of the Patna-born actor, inside Bihar and elsewhere, and the CBI probe is expected to bring out the truth behind it and ensure justice, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday.

Kumar, who was addressing a virtual rally here which marked the commencement of JD(U)'s campaign for the upcoming assembly polls, made a reference to the deceased actor towards the end of his more than an hour-long speech.

Rajput was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on June 14.

"The death of the young actor had caused grief not only to his family, but also to millions of his fans who reside in Bihar and elsewhere. His father lodged an FIR in Patna when he found that an appropriate investigation was not taking place (in Mumbai)," said Kumar in a veiled attack on the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra.

"Finally, when the bereaved father sought a CBI inquiry, we wasted no time in recommending it and the Centre, thankfully, gave its assent in good time. Now, we can hope that justice will be done in the matter," said the JD(U) chief, who seeks his fourth consecutive term in power in Bihar.

The actor's father K K Singh lodged an FIR with Rajiv Nagar police station here and levelled various allegations against actress Rhea Chakraborty in connection with his death.

These had triggered a tug of war between the governments of Bihar and Maharashtra with the latter questioning the former's "jurisdiction" in the matter.

Things reached a flashpoint when a young IPS officer from Patna was forcibly quarantined hours after reaching Mumbai where he was supposed to lead a Bihar police team in investigating the case.

The Bihar government's recommendation for a CBI probe was frowned upon by the Uddhav Thackeray regime which dubbed the move as one taken with a "political motive".

The Shiv Sena, of which Thackeray is the president, had alleged that Kumar was trying to cash in on the immense sympathy generated for Rajput during the assembly elections, a charge rebutted by the ruling NDA in Bihar.

Kumar spoke about the deceased actor in course of paying tributes to a host of public figures who lost their lives recently, including former President Pranab Mukherjee.

The chief minister, whose speech was peppered with references to Lalu Prasad, took a swipe at the jailed RJD chief over a recent post on the latter's official twitter handle in which the current regime was called a "bhaar" (burden) on Bihar.

"We may be bhaar. But you are andar (inside; also used as a pun for imprisonment). And the people of Bihar have no regrets over that. They are very much relieved," quipped the JD(U) chief.

(PTI Report)